Are Carbs Making You Fat?
Jan 14, 2022
by Matt Johnson
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The truth about carbs, what are they? And how do they really work in helping you achieve your fitness goals?
We hear this question a lot, “Do carbs make me fat?”
Ever since the Atkins diet, teaching people to avoid carbs because they make you get fat, carbs have always gotten a bad name for themselves, and it just seems like more and more low carbs to no carb diets come out.
Which means more and more people have come to fear them and continued to believe that carbs make them fat.
We want to help clear the air about carbs and really help you understand them.
WHAT DO CARBS ACTUALLY DO?
Carbs play a vital role in the body, which is energy.
They are what fuel your body and help it function properly.
If you’ve ever done a low/no carb diet, then you will really understand this.
Those who go on low carb to no carb diets feel great at first, but a few weeks of exercising and doing this and suddenly everything feels different.
Concentrating on things will become more and more difficult, cravings for sweets will increase, and strength and energy will decrease especially inside the gym during workouts.
TYPES OF CARBS
Carbs are broken down into three separate groups:
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Simple Carbs: These are fast digesting and are usually come from fruit or any other form of sugar.
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Complex Carbs: These are slower digesting these are in whole grains and starches.
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Fibrous Carbs: These are not digested but are important, they are found in dark greens and other fibrous foods.
Learning to use carbs for your specific needs is crucial and important in how your body utilizes them.
Quick energy: use simple carbs. This is before your workout or any kind of physical demand. You’ll see endurance athletes drink and eat sugar as they do an event or train, this is quick sugar for the body to absorb and use immediately. The body doesn’t have to work hard at all to break them down.
Slower Fat Burning Energy: use complex carbs. These are very beneficial to use when trying to burn fat. Your body will end up burning 10% more calories just on digestion when eaten with a lean protein. It creates what is called thermogenic.
Fibrous should always be a part of your daily nutrition to help aid in digestion.
HOW CARBS TURN INTO FAT
Carbs are broken down into glucose or what you probably know as blood sugar.
The body then absorbs them and stores them into your muscles as glycogen. 
Glycogen is energy stored inside the muscles and every time you use your muscles in any way, but especially during exercise you are using glycogen.
This is why if you’ve done a low carb to no carb diet, you will notice that your performance inside the gym goes down.
So, the best way to look at carbs in your body is like a bucket.
Your muscles are an empty bucket when you eat carbs and you fill those glycogen storages, you are filling your bucket up.
If you reach the top of the bucket but keep pouring what happens?
It spills over right?!
This is the same for your body, all fat is stored as energy that the body couldn’t use and is being stored as fat.
CONCLUSION:
Now that you know and have a better understand of what carbs do and are, hopefully, you can start to see how carbs do not make you fat, but it’s the over-consumption of carbs that will cause your body to store fat.
Which the truth is, so will protein and fats, but when it comes to carbs your body can just do it in a lot more efficient way.
Knowing when to have lower carbs, moderate, and higher carbs to achieve your fitness goals is important.
It is also the importance of having a customized plan specific to you and your body and what it can or cannot handle.
Since, everyone’s body is different!
Which is what we help you do when you come to get a Dexa body fat scan.
When we can see your entire body broken down into what is fat tissue and what is lean tissue, we can probably coach you on how much protein, carbs, and fats your body needs for your specific goals.
Dexa scan is 99% accurate on results, which means its the MOST RELIABLE WAY TO TEST YOUR BODY FAT%
Let us help you know exactly how to get the results you want with your nutrition and workouts!
Don't leave your results to guessing and chance, come to see us and let us actually help you get
the results you've always wanted, so you can live the lifestyle you've always wanted!
